Education

Protest rocks FUTA as final-year student slumps, dies few days to exam

Published

9 months ago

August 25, 2023

Ayomide Akeredolu

Protest rocks FUTA as final-year student slumps, dies few days to exam

Academic activities were paralysed at the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), Ondo state, on Friday, following a protest by students of the institution over the death of their colleague, Ayomide Akeredolu.

Akeredolu, a 500 Level student of the school, was said to have slumped inside the hall of residence.

The deceased, who was planning to write his final exam, was immediately rushed to the institution’s health centre but gave up the ghost on arrival.

His death angered the students who mobilised to block the front of their school on the Akure/Ilesha express road for several hours.

They alleged that Akeredolu died due to the lack of basic amenities in the school’s health centre.

However, the protest forced commuters and motorists plying the expressed road to use alternative routes.

An eyewitness and student of the school who pleaded not to be mentioned, said, “He (Akeredolu) slumped while in his hostel at Akindeko Hall of residence and was rushed to the University Health Centre (a proposed University Teaching Hospital), due to the lack of basic amenities, he lost his life at the university clinic.

“We rushed him to the health centre around 8:30 pm, when we got there, there was a power outage, and throughout the oxygen set up, CPR and injections they gave him, the light wasn’t restored, we had to use our flashlights, it was also hard to believe that there is no backup power supply.

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“Sequel to the incident, the health centre refused to attend to another student, a former FUTASU Vice President who was in a critical condition and needed emergency attention but because she wasn’t with her ID CARD, no one attended to her.”

But in a swift reaction, the institution’s management, which condoled with the family of the deceased, said Akeredolu was brought in dead.

The management, in a statement released by its Spokesman, Adegbenro Adebanjo, said it was important to point out that the protest was not directly related to the death of the student.

“He was brought in dead. Efforts to resuscitate him through Cardiopulmonary resuscitation and oxygen therapy proved abortive. He was subsequently taken to the UNIMED Teaching Hospital, Akure by the medical personnel on duty inside the University ambulance.”

“Understandably, his friends and colleagues are devastated by the sad Development. The management joins them in mourning at this very difficult time. Our thoughts and prayers are with our students and the bereaved family.

“It is important to point out that the protest was not directly related to the death of the student.

“The representatives of the students, at a meeting with Management called at the behest of the Vice Chancellor, pointed out some lacuna in the process of accessing services at the Health Centre. The Management in the course of the meeting directed that immediate remedial measures be taken to address the lacuna and other issues raised by the students.

“The corrective measures will be reviewed from time to time to ensure that they are being implemented to the letter,and satisfaction of the students.”

Protest rocks FUTA as final-year student slumps, dies few days to exam

(DAILY TRUST)

Education

FG fixes May 24 to open student loan portal

Published

5 hours ago

May 17, 2024

Trends Admin

FG fixes May 24 to open student loan portal

The Federal Government through the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) says the application portal for students’ loan scheme will open on 24th May 2024.

This is contained in a statement signed by Nasir Ayitogo -Media and Public Relations Lead of NELFUND, on Thursday.

He said the move marks a significant milestone in the commitment of President Bola Tinubu to fostering accessible and inclusive education for all Nigerian students.

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The statement reads in full : “The management of Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) led by its Managing Director, Mr Akintunde Sawyerr are thrilled to announce 24th of May, 2024 as official date for the opening of portal for student loan applications.

This marks a significant milestone in the commitment of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu (GCFR) to fostering accessible and inclusive education for all Nigerian students.

Through the portal, students can now access loans to pursue their academic aspirations without financial constraints.

The portal provides a user-friendly interface for students to submit their loan applications conveniently.

We encourage all eligible students to take advantage of this opportunity to invest in their future and contribute to the growth and development of our nation.

Students can access the portal on www.nelf.gov.ng to begin application.

For more information and assistance, please contact NELFUND via email on info@nelf.gov.ng or contact us via our social media handles.”

FG fixes May 24 to open student loan portal

Education

UK varsities considering NECO results for admission – Registrar

Published

1 day ago

May 16, 2024

Trends Admin

Registrar of the National Examinations Council (NECO), Prof. Ibrahim Wushishi

UK varsities considering NECO results for admission – Registrar

The Registrar of the National Examinations Council (NECO), Prof. Ibrahim Wushishi, said foreign universities like Lead University and Birmingham City University in the United Kingdom have reached out to the council for information on its examinations.

He said these universities are considering admitting Nigerian students based on their NECO results, indicating a level of credibility and acceptance of NECO’s outcomes by international institutions.

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Speaking during an interactive session with journalists in Abuja Wednesday, Prof. Wushishi said NECO has met the demands of Birmingham City University, and they are currently working on fulfilling the request from Lead University.

Regarding digitalisation and the potential migration to Computer-Based Testing (CBT), Prof. Wushishi acknowledged the complexity of NECO examinations, particularly with close to 1.5 million students taking exams in 76 different subjects and over 150 different papers annually for admissions into tertiary institutions.

This complexity, he said, poses challenges for an immediate shift to CBT, unlike other examination bodies like JAMB that primarily use multiple-choice formats.

UK varsities considering NECO results for admission – Registrar

Education

JAMB releases another 36,540 UTME results

Published

2 days ago

May 15, 2024

Trends Admin

JAMB releases another 36,540 UTME results

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has released additional 36,540 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) results withheld for further investigation.

This was in addition to the 531 results released the previous week, bringing the total results released to 1,879,437.

This is contained in a statement by the Public Communication Advisor of the Board, Dr Fabian Benjamin on Tuesday in Abuja.

The Board also dismissed a letter by an alleged fraudster the outstanding 2024 UTME results, subjected to scrutiny by experts, had been compromised on account of a cyber security breach for which it is considering rescheduling the examination.

The statement reads: “In another development, the attention of the Board was drawn to a fictitious letter concocted by a fraudster and circulated on social media purporting to emanate from the Board stating that the outstanding 2024 UTME results, currently being subjected to intense scrutiny by its team of experts, had been compromised on account of a cyber security breach and that it is considering rescheduling the examination.

“This is far from the truth as the said letter did not emanate from the Board. In fact, a closer look at the letter, which was not signed by any person, lacked every ingredient of a letter from the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board. The letter is, therefore, from those, who wish to destroy the integrity of the Board, by compromising its unassailable operational processes to mislead hapless candidates with the sole aim of extorting them.

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“The Board reiterated, for the umpteenth time, that the results of its 2024 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) and other previous years are intact, not in any cloud storage and can, therefore, not be hacked by anybody.

“It is to be recalled that at the release of the 2024 UTME, the Board had announced that some results had been withheld as they were being subjected to further investigation. Out of these, 531 results were released recently. Others found to be involved in any examination misconduct are still undergoing investigation as the Board would want to review all the footage of all CCTV cameras placed in all its accredited centres to ascertain the candidate’s culpability or otherwise.

“At the conclusion of this exercise, the Board would publish its findings. Therefore, the public is urged to be wary of misleading information emanating from sources not linked to the Board be it religious or other sources.

“Equally disturbing is the misleading comments of some functionaries of some private institutions, who are linking the Board with “the prevailing low ‘cut-off marks’when in practice, it was their institutions that had submitted lower minimum minimum admissible scores marks, even lower than what other institutions had presented.

“For the purpose of clarity, minimum admissible scores are first presented by individual institutions before such are debated to arrive at a benchmark agreed upon by all Heads of Institutions across the country at its annual Policy Meeting on Admissions and which no institution would be allowed to compromise.

“Also, the Board would also like to urge religious organisations to stick to their primary roles and not dabble into areas outside their calling as there are reports of some religious organisations making false representation to government at various levels for selfish ends.”